Patron Saints of Lost Causes
by Silverwings16
Summary: Swimming Among the Stars Rewrite KotOR time period: Jedi Padawan escorting an incredibly powerful Force sensitive child collides headfirst with a ragtag group of bounty hunters on the run from the Exchange.
1. Prologue

_**Fear.**__  
_  
Blood was pounding in her ears. No...pounding was not the right term. _Roaring _was far more accurate. The footfalls of dozens of pursuers echoed ferociously off of the stone walls that ran the length of the corridor. Panic slowly wormed its way through her gut like a sinuous strand, burrowing into the deepest core of her soul. Only the very slight warmth of slender fingers woven through her own spurred her forward._  
__**  
I see you.**__  
_  
Relea chanced a harried glance over her shoulder. Only darkness glared back at her, as black as the farthest reaches of time. Not a single light was present in the passageway. The lack of illumination felt…unnatural, oppressive. She could feel its presence closing in on her, pressing against her chest, choking the oxygen from her lungs. Terror twisted her vocal chords.

The young Jedi wanted to scream for her Master. The realization that her plea would fall upon deaf ears nearly stopped her in her tracks. The void in the Force was palpable, like a hole carved into her soul with a dull blade. Master Arquilla was gone in every sense of the word, reduced to a bloody, broken mess smeared across the temple's marbled floor.

Suddenly, the darkness parted like dawn slicing through the gloom. The Padawan plunged into a cavernous great hall, the ceiling supported by towering pillars. Glowing marbles of blue flame lined the walls, casting the chamber in an ethereal haze. Multiple exits pleaded for her attention, like ghostly sirens calling to sailors.

He was _playing_ with her like a puppet on a string, smothering her with inexperience and fear. Her mind was a raw, gaping maw that required little effort to fracture. Terror gripped her soul like fingers closed around her throat. Her joints were screaming at her to collapse, to just _stop, _to succumb to the oblivion that had snatched her Master away. _Let go… just let him take you…do what he desires with you…  
No!  
_  
Instantly, the Relea surged forward, thrusting the pain that tore at her limbs away with a vengeance. The newfound strength was a terrifying fire smoldering in her veins. She gasped, her lungs  
ablaze. She tore across the hall towards a set of crude stairs cut into the far wall, spiraling upwards towards the surface.  
Her surroundings were a muddled blur, each step melding into the next in a dizzying spiral. Her stomach churned violently.  
_**  
I can feel you**__.  
_  
The Padawan leapt blindly into the air, the Force lifting her towards a tiny alcove carved into the wall high above her head. She landed hard, the wind knocked roughly from her lungs, the cold stone biting into her back. The child was sprawled across her chest. The young Jedi gaped at her. Enormous blank eyes stared back. They seemed to stare past her, through her, at something that the Padawan could not see herself. Her aura glowed violently bright in the Force, a startling mixture of gentle, brutal power.

The pair's pursuers poured through the doorway. The young woman scuttled backwards until her back was pressed against the alcove's farthest corner, the little girl gathered in her arms.  
**  
_I will break you._**

He slithered through her skull like an oiled serpent, into the deepest pit of fears and hatred that resided in her brain. He sunk his claws into the soft flesh. Her head started to pound, feeling as if it was about to be torn in half. The Padawan whimpered and started to quiver, balling her fist into her mouth to stifle her screams. _Please…  
_  
The child slowly rose to her feet and took a hesitant step towards the opening of the alcove. Eyes widening, the Jedi scrambled towards her. Two glowing eyes made her freeze. The girl turned away and peered down over the edge. Hisfollowers had filled the room below, shrouded in black robes that seemed to merge with the darkness. They were silent as they searched for their prey, Force pikes gripped tightly in their fists bathed the room in a soft violet glow.  
_  
Do not give in, Relea. This is not your time.  
_  
The girl shuffled forward and raised her arms above her head. Eyes closed, she concentrated. Slowly, white-hot light sparked at her fingertips. The men below shouted to one another as they took notice of the glow growing steadily from the alcove.

The Padawan's mouth slowly opened in an expression of silent horror. The light had twisted and morphed into a monstrous glowing, sparking sphere that had completely enveloped the young girl in front of her. She stood motionless within the orb, a massive lightning storm raging wildly around her. Without hesitation, the child stepped forward…right off the ledge.  
"No!" Relea lunged, fumbling for the silver cylinder hanging from her belt. She landed roughly to the ground below, her bones screaming in protest. Dragging herself to a standing position, the young Jedi was about to ignite her blade when the child turned towards her. White flames danced in her eyes. With arms raised, she _shrieked_. _  
_  
The sphere exploded in a blinding flash. Lightning discharged and filled the room, crawling across every surface. Relea gasped and shielded her eyes. The Sith warriors screamed, their eye ablaze as the lightning snaked across their bodies. Slowly, they levitated, writhing and squirming under the blaze. The atmosphere crackled and snapped with pure energy, the light glowing brighter and brighter…and just like that…

Dozens of empty robes fluttered to the ground in smoking piles. Extinguished Force pikes clattered and rolled away. Stray sparks spit and sputtered. Relea painfully opened her eyes. Groaning, she turned on to her stomach. Her eyes widened as she crawled towards a crumpled robe and gently ran her fingers over the fabric. It was warm to the touch but _empty._ In fact, there was no sign of battle. Not one body could be seen in the entire room.

A tiny figure lay in the center of the room, her pale skin glowing faintly. Relea knelt next to her and gently turned her over on her back. "Please, please wake up." She whispered, her voice hoarse as she pleaded and shook the child. "We made it this far…_please_." The image of Master Arquillis, broken and bloodied in a heap, raced through her mind. She could not allow her Master's great sacrifice to have been in vain. The Order had lost one of the greats for nothing if she did not act, and act now.

Grunting with the effort, she gathered the young girl into her arms and headed towards the opening that led outside.

* * *

The air was thick and heavy; humid and damp like the moments after a summer downpour. Stifling waves of yellowed grass parted reluctantly before Relea's lightsaber as she swung to clear a path. Gnarled, mottled gray trees twisted out of the grass. Mud squelched beneath Relea's boots as she plodded along, walking unsteadily under the girl's weight.

Yavin 4's evening sky was a muddy bronze. Peaked mountains cast black silhouettes against the glare of a setting sun. Darkened clouds were forming on the horizon.

She half carried, half dragged the child through the marsh, the mud climbing to their knees. Towering strands of grass seemed to stretch ahead in every direction. Closing her eyes, she reached out in the Force.  
_  
_Gathering up her nerves, her robes, and the young girl, Relea headed resolutely northeast.

* * *

Master Arquilla's starfighter was nestled snugly in the clearing, flanked on all sides by towering trees. A runyip was snuffling along the ground beneath the aircraft, grunting and squawking as it sifted through the dirt. Its long ears perked as Relea approached. The beast paused, a clawed foot hanging in the air as it looked over its shoulder. Clods of soil were dangling from its broad, squared snout. It emitted a high pitched squeal before tearing off into the underbrush.

Relea laid the girl on a battered wing and scrambled into the cockpit. Moss was already forming on the controls. The Padawan pressed a few buttons on the panel and flipped a switch. "This is Padawan Relea Esune'. I'm on Yavin 4 with Master Ar-" She paused, shocked at her lack of remembrance for her Master's death. "I'm on Yavin 4 alone and I need assistance." The panel remained dark, a fissure running up the center, exposing a muddled mess of circuits and wires. She pressed the button again. "This is Padawan Relea Esune'!" Silence.

She had failed to notce that the crash landing had rendered the starfighter useless, crumpled and broken like a mechanical corpse. T3-H2 remained silent, the droid's flat head hanging sideways. The young Jedi missed his comforting doodles and beeps. The silence was deafening, closing in on her like the darkness in the temple.

Gripping the yokes with shaking hands, she shook them angrily. "What am I supposed to do?! I'm just a Padawan!" Closing her eyes, Relea slumped against the control panel and sobbed.

* * *

Thank you for giving my story a try! Please read and review! I will appreciate it so much.


	2. Chapter 1

"Vara, _please_! You can't just sit there!"

"Oh I can, Leon. I can sit here very well, thank you."

"You would let me die?"

"Don't be so dramatic."

"VARA!"

Leon stared at his partner. Stretched out languidly on a rock along the shore, she was the perfect picture of serenity. Smirking, she twirled her blaster between her slender fingers.

"You blame me, don't you?"

Vara's head perked up at that statement, her golden orbs instantly hardening. "Why yes I do, quite frankly!" Scrambling to her feet, she gave her wild, raven hair a defiant toss over her shoulder. "Look at my ship!" she bellowed, sweeping her arm to indicate the downed aircraft and its bent wing, crooked landing craft, missing engine casing, and the blackened line of blaster scoring along the hull. The lost engine casing bobbed helplessly in the river.

Leon squirmed under her icy gaze…and due to the small, slimy creature currently swimming around in his pants, making laps around his boxers. "You expect me to take sole credit for all of that?"

"Who accepted the job, Leon?"

"I did."

"Who said it was a bad idea?"

"You did."

She stood back, arms crossed, left eyebrow raised. Silence hung in the air as the partners stared at each other. "Alright," she sighed, clearly exasperated.

Gingerly, Vara dipped her toe into the muddy river, the brown water sloshed as she lowered herself into its murky depths. Sloshing forward, she held her arms above her head until she was standing waist deep in the stream.

"Now you have to be _perfectly_ still, Leon. Mucous salamanders are poisonous."

He blanched, eyes dilating in fear. "Poisonous?"

"Mmm hmm, very." Gently, she started to slide her hand past the waistband of his trousers. "Stay very still…" She whispered, her breath warm on his neck. Leon gulped, resisting the urge to shiver under her caress as her fingers skimmed his thigh. "Wait, I think…I think I can feel it…"

Leon's eyes bulged. "It-It…" He gasped, as he started to do a little jig in the water, splashing Vara.

"What?" She leaned in closer.

"IT BIT ME!" He wailed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

"Oh, come on!" Vara called to his retreating figure as she trudged through the river back to shore. "It was a joke!"

Leon whirled around with so much force that he nearly made a complete circle. "A JOKE?!" He hissed, stabbing his finger in her face. "First of all, there is nothing funny about Leon Land. Second of all, it's even less funny when it involves a creature trying to snack on Leon Land. And third of all…you said it was POISONOUS!"

Vara slapped his hand away while _shushing_ him. "Do you want the whole damn moon to hear you?!" With a sneaky smile forming on her lips, she held the lizard under his nose. Beady little eyes stared at her partner blandly. "Do you want to pet him?"

"NO!" Leon roared, stomping haphazardly through the underbrush, his feet catching on upturned roots and tangled vines. He looked like a drunken spacer wandering home after an evening out on Nar Shadaa, weaving unsteadily. Vara shrugged and tossed the salamander carelessly over her shoulder.

"Wait…_Leon Land_? What _exactly_ do you have between your legs?"

Leon flashed a single fingered gesture over his shoulder, grumbling quite loudly under his breath. "Women! Ungrateful little-woah!" His foot caught on an overturned root, sending the young man tumbling, arms flailing, to a sprawling heap on the ground.

Vara loomed over him, leaning forward with her hands resting on her knees.

"Are you sure you don't want to pet him?" She peered at him intently, her face void of expression.

Groaning, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back the ground with a moist _thump_.

* * *

Fist sized raindrops splattered against Master Arquilla's battered star fighter, creating a constant chorus of hollow, metallic _pings._

Relea pulled her robes tighter against her thin body. The air was warm and muggy, but uncomfortably damp. Even in the heat, the Jedi felt an unsettlingly chill. Events of the day played over and over in her mind.

The young girl slept soundlessly on her lap, her chest rising and falling gently. She had awoken three hours before. The Padawan felt her intense stare on her back before she realized the girl had surfaced from unconsciousness.

"You're awake. Don't be afraid. We're safe…" She peered off into the distance. "…for now." Her voice was just a note above a murmur.

She sighed. Her blatant lack of protection for the child's feelings clearly showed her inexperience...and fear. "As soon as the transmitter is up and running, we'll be rescued." Returning her attention back to the frazzled console, she struggled to push the harsh panic out of her gut. The fried computer sparked at her in spite.

The child regarded her wordlessly. Relea studied the girl crouched in front of her for the first time since she and her Master discovered her existence in Exar Kun's old haunting grounds that very morning. Her stance reminded the young Jedi of a cornered beast ready for flight; tense, but still. Dressed in a sheer white sheet, she looked like a ghostly waif.

She was terribly thin, barely skirting malnourishment. Skin was taut, stretched over her bones and bulging veins like a tarp. Her pallor was ghostly, unusually pale with almost a faint…_glow_. Her eyes brought Relea's scrutinizing gaze to an abrupt halt. _Unnerving_. That was the first word that came to the Jedi's mind. They were owl like and just large enough to seem out of place on the child's narrow face. One second she felt drawn to them, unable to tear her own eyes away. The next instant, she felt the hairs on her neck prickle and was desperate to look at anything but the girl's unwavering stare.

"You have to forgive me." Relea ventured, chuckling nervously. "I'm new to all of this. I've always had my Master's guidance to fall back on-" Instantly the laughter died on her lips.

Master Arquilla's bloodied corpse appeared before her eyes, as if she was sprawled across the jungle's floor before her. Gaping saber wounds were raw and fresh, the stench of charred flesh hanging heavily in the air. Cloudy unseeing eyes stared into Relea's. The Padawan lurched forward, doubled over and vomited violently. Wastes splattered against her boots.

Placing her hands on her knees, she stood heaving and gasping for breath. The child simply watched. Reaching up, she wiped her mouth on her sleeve.

"I-I'm sorry, I-" Tears were forming in her eyes but she refused to allow them to fall. It was her duty to pick up the mantle left behind by her fallen Master. The child had to be taken to shelter on Dantooine. Her power in the Force was so strong, it was _overwhelming_. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the Force would be able to detect her instantly. The Jedi could never allow her to fall into Malak's hands. The entire war effort would be changed overnight. The thought sobered the young Jedi. It was now up to her, and _only_ her.

Regaining her composure, Relea knelt before the young girl. "What should I call you?"

Scrambling to her feet, the girl disappeared into the underbrush. "Wait!" The Padawan called to her, making a move to follow but the child returned instantly. Clenched in her bony fist was a stone.

She dropped to her knees and started dragging the rock through the mud unsteadily. After a few moments, she leaned back on her haunches and stared at the Jedi expectantly. "Fina" was scrawled across the dirt in a rough, uneven script.

Relea reached out and grasped the girl's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Fina."

A low rumble sounded as angry, blackened clouds loomed over the mountains. On cue, the heavens opened. Rain fell in brutal waves, drenching Relea and Fina instantly. "We have to go into the forest!" The Jedi yelled over the roar of the downpour. The girl stared at her through plastered bangs.

Taking her hand, Relea gave one last glance to Master Arquilla's star fighter before she and the child set out into the unknown. The space craft stood stoically, accepting its fate of being devoured by the rainforests of Yavin's moon.

* * *

Cheek resting on her hand, Vara poked at the dying embers of the fire with a stick. "So apparently it _always_ rains on this fracking moon?"

Leon poked his head around the corner of the ship, a line of grease smeared like war paint under his left eye. Ignoring her complaints, he fixed her with an irritated stare. "So apparently you're not going to help me fix _your_ ship?"

Vara gave him an equally as withering gaze. "_Our_ ship," she corrected.

"It's only _our_ ship when it's shot to hell."

The woman ignored him, loudly scraping the sides of the plasteel tray resting on her lap. Brown mush collated in a soupy pile on her spoon. _Thumph_. A hydrospanner stuck straight out of the dirt near Vara's foot. Leon whistled cheerfully from behind the ship.

_Clank_. A plasteel tray clattered down the craft's crinkled wing. Leon's face peered back around the corner. The pair stared daggers at one another. Sighing, Vara stomped over to the ship and handed her partner his hydrospanner. Leon eyed her warily, before reaching down to accept the tool. "Thank-" Vara latched onto that moment of reprieve and wrapped her fingers around Leon's ankle. With a hearty tug, she knocked him headfirst into the ship.

Swearing, he dug his fingers into an indentation near the wing and swung his body around, bringing Vara with it. She smacked into the hull with a metallic _thunk_. Wriggling, she tried to climb up his leg. Leon let go of his handhold and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Vara was pinned beneath him. She started flailing her arms in his face, her legs striking out indiscriminately. Her right foot caught him right above his eye. "Fierfek!" Leon growled, grabbing her belt and throwing her onto her stomach. Mud flew into the air in a spectacular brown fountain, drenching them both.

"Vara!" Leon yelled, settling his weight against the pit of her back. "Stop!" She grunted in frustration, squirming beneath him like a slippery eel. "Vara!" Her leg sprung up, left booted foot colliding with the back of his head. Leon swayed, but managed to hang onto her thrashing limbs. The pair rolled around in the puddle, Leon trying to calm the bucking bounty hunter like a wild rancor. "This is getting us no-oof!"

Three plump woolamanders were perched on a branch above, watching the hairless creatures below with great interest. The pair seemed to be taking part in some sort of mating ritual. The center creature munched sloppily on a bright orange and yellow speckled fruit, spraying flecks of the juicy flesh on his mate. She chirped at him in annoyance. The third prime ape remained entranced by the strange site below. The male called back to her, the baggy pouches in his throat vibrating. The sound interrupted the lanky creatures below.

Vara she froze, her eyes falling upon the trio blue and white pot bellied prime apes high above her in the tree. Leon tentatively let go of her arms. Easing himself off of her, he slid down to the ground and sat, arms draped over his knees. Rolling over onto her back, she spat mud. "Why… Why the hell...did you do that?" He asked, struggling to catch his breath.

The woman smeared her arm against her mouth. "Because...it always rains…on this damn moon."

* * *

Relea knelt behind the fallen log and peered tentatively through the leaves of the shrub. Fina was nestled beneath a tree a few feet away. The man and woman had _finally_ stopped fighting. After nearly fifteen minutes of instense staring, the pair split.

The woman, Vara, as the man called her, was tall and lean. She had expressive eyes that were a brilliant shade of gold. Her skin was warm, a rich honey tone. Striking, she was instantly noticable and extremely attractive. Her wild mane of black curls were pulled up in a messy bun as she stood in the center of the river, beating she and her partner's muddied clothing against a rock.

The other half of the duo was back on top of their ship, shirtless. Thin, but clearly muscular, the man had the look of an agile fighter. Black tattoos crawled across his arms and back in various alien designs and texts. His face was friendly and Relea guessed most women would find him highly attractive, but his blue eyes had a frosty edge. Struggling under the weight of an engine casing, he was weaving back and forth unsteadily as he carried the metal cylinder to the stern of the space craft.

Their auras were...difficult to read, at best. The man was a mixture of dark and light, if one could truly break human beings and their tangled thread of thoughts and emotions into such clear cut definitions. He had a good heart, she could feel that, but it was interwoven with a confusing mess of darkened thoughts and weighty anxiety. His thoughts were moving at a rate far too quickly for her to grasp, and she feared that if she tried to latch onto a single one, he would feel it. The Padawan was still new to probing the minds of others, and this human was highly intelligent.

Her eyes traveled away from him and onto the ship he was perched on. It was a sleek craft, though the myriad of dents and scars from blaster scoring distracted the eye. It was the color of dirty chrome with fat blue stripes criss crossing across the body. _Panic Switch_ was emblazoned on the hull in bright yellow lettering. The text reminded her of jagged strikes of lightning.

"I think I can get the _Switch_ patched up enough to get us off the ground." The man called to his partner. Relea's eyes snapped back to him as he spoke. He stood with his back to her, facing the woman, hands interlaced behind his head.

The woman paused in disciplining the muddy clothing. "Can you get us to Jericho?"

He glanced down at the ship beneath his feet while running a hand through his cropped sandy hair. Strands of stray hair dangled in front of his eyes. "Not without a few more parts. What are the chances of other ships being downed around here? A little spare part scavenging, perhaps?"

"Anything to keep myself from going crazy on this rock." She snarled, slapping Leon's trousers against the rock with much more effort than necessary.

"Too late for that, Vara." The man quipped as he swung down to the ground like a monkey.

She laughed good naturedly and started making the trip back to shore, the clothing thrown over her shoulder. She paused, her eyes scanning the line of trees on the embankment.

"What's wrong?" The man asked, following her gaze.

"I don't know I…" The woman frowned; brows furrowed. "I feel like _something_ is watching us. I can't really shake it."

"Maybe the woolamanders? I saw those hairy hand warmers earlier. I think one of them was eyeing me up for dinner." He replied, flashing her a brilliant smile.

"Or a date." Vara answered with a smirk forming on her lips. "But no, it's not a woolamander." She gave the forest one last once over. "Oh well, I'm sure it's my imagination. The sounds coming from  
the forest are enough to make anyone feel a little…off balanced."

Relea waited until Vara started tossing their dripping garments across low hanging branches to dry. Gently, she attempted a quick glance into the woman's thoughts. A mental block impeded her probe, completely shielding her mind. Startled, the young Jedi recoiled.

Vara's head flew up. She stared into the forest…directly into Relea's eyes.

_

* * *

_

Thank you for reading! Please review!


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